Ice and Amethyst
by xXToraUchihaXx
Summary: Ash Taylor is the older sister of Tristan by a year, but her life has never been easy. Her life was saved by Seto Kaiba and she fell for him, but when he didn't say I love you back and started to avoid her she left for Egypt where she fell for a certain purple eyed boy. Now she's back in Domino City and things couldn't be more complicated. Can she deal with all the secrets?
1. Prologue

_Seto,_

_ I've decided that I'm going to leave. I just can't take this anymore. Don't think I haven't noticed how you "work late" just to avoid me. Then if I'm still up by the time you get home you lock yourself in your office without saying a word. I can't even begin to describe how much it hurts me. I love you Seto, but you obviously don't feel the same way about me._

_ I haven't forgotten that you've yet to tell me how you feel. I know you like me, otherwise we would not have been together in the first place, but I don't know if you've just been humoring me. Was anything I thought we had real? It hurts Seto. It hurt the most when I told you I loved you and you didn't say anything back, so I just pretended to fall asleep hoping you wouldn't notice the tears in my eyes._

_ I'm going to Egypt, but don't try to follow me. Not that you would anyway. For some reason I feel as if the ancient country is calling out to me, begging me to come and discover something far greater than myself. Right now you're sleeping, you look so peaceful and handsome. I wish things could be different between us, but you avoiding me has made it clear that we were not meant to be and that this is simply a one sided love._

_ Depending on what I find in Egypt I may not come back. So as of right now, we are no longer together. This hurts me far more than it possibly could hurt you. I hope you don't forget the good times we've had together. I love you Seto and deep down inside I know I'll never forget the sweet brown haired boy with the ice blue eyes that saved me from starvation._

_Forever loving you,_

_Ash_

A tall, brown haired male stood, clutching the letter in his right hand. Crystal tears fell from his ice blue eyes smearing the ink on the page. The soft light of the moon casted an ominous shadow across his face as his vacant eyes stared down at the page. Another boy, younger than the first, stood not far away staring sadly at the distraught man, his long black hair disheveled from having just been woken up by the sounds of crying from the older boy's room. His own letter was held tightly to his chest as he tried to hold back the tears threatening to fall from his charcoal grey eyes.

"What are we going to do, Seto?" The boy asked in a quiet voice.

"I… I don't know Mokuba," the teen, Seto, said his voice coming out shaky and weak. "I just don't know."

The younger boy finally let go and allowed the tears to flow down his tanned cheeks. "We're going to get her back, right?" Mokuba asked a tiny bit of hope creeping into his voice.

"We can't," Seto whispered as he let the letter fall from his hands. "Ash left of her own freewill. Chances are she's already on a flight to Egypt now."

"Are we ever going to see her again?"

"Go to bed Mokuba." Seto said softly. "We'll figure this out in the morning."

The boy, seeing that the older male needed some time alone, nodded his head and left the room. Seto walked over to his dresser and picked up a frame that was sitting on top of it. He sat down heavily on the bed and stared at the picture. Incased in the frame was a picture of a smiling brunette in a simple white sundress. Behind her stood Seto with his arms wrapped around her, a small smile adorning his face.

"Oh Ash," he sighed as his tears splashed against the glass holding the picture in the frame. "I do love you."

* * *

Hi! So I'm starting this new story because the idea has been gnawing at the back of my mind for a while now and I just couldn't help myself. I really wanted to write it. Reviews are greatly appreciated (Reviews lead to potential conversations, which can lead to friendships. Trust me it happened for me already ;)) and any suggestions are welcome. Just a warning though, I don't take criticism very well. I appreciate, I just don't like it very much. I hope you liked my prologue and please let me know if you like my story or not.

~Tora


	2. Return to Domino

I stared blankly through the airplane window at the growing skyline of Domino City. It's been an entire year since I was here last. A lot of things have changed in the time I've been in Egypt. My hand unconsciously moved to pat the side of my waist where my Millennium Dagger was clipped to my jeans. Above my head the seat belt light flickered to life and I buckled mine across my lap.

The plane began its descent towards the airport and I stared at my hands. What if I see _him_ again? Nervous butterflies danced around in my stomach as the plane was brought to a halt in front of the terminal. I unbuckled my seatbelt and reached above me to grab my small black duffle bag from the overhead compartment. I followed the long line of travel weary passengers off the plane and to the baggage claim.

My eyes scanned the crowd looking for any sign of my brother. When I didn't see him I sighed and sat down on a bench to wait. He must be late again. I pulled out my phone to check for any messages. None, something must have happened. He promised me he would be here waiting for me when my plane landed. I leaned my head back and shut my eyes.

"Ash?" A deep voice asked as a hand prodded my shoulder. I opened my eyes slowly see a familiar pair of dark brown eyes.

"About time you showed up," I smirked as I stood up and hugged my younger brother, Tristan. We're only one year apart in age, but he's a few centimeters taller than me. Not to mention his hair adds an extra five or six centimeters to his height.

"Well, there was traffic," he said and rubbed the back of his head. "So how have you been?"

"Good," I smiled. "Egypt was amazing! The pyramids were breathtaking and the people were so nice."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he smiled back and ruffled my long hair. "Did you make any friends there?"

"Yeah," I said turning away to hide the slight blush that crossed my cheeks thinking about _him_.

"That's good," he said just as his phone rang.

"You should take that," I said. He nodded and checked the caller id before putting it to his ear.

"Hey Tea… Yugi's grandpa's what? … Who? … That jerk! … Yeah I'll be right there." He pressed the end call button on his phone and shoved it in his pocket.

"Something wrong?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Do you mind if we take a detour before I drop you at the hotel?"

"Not at all," I said and he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the airport. He quickly threw a helmet at me and put on his own before climbing onto his motorcycle. I put on my helmet and quickly secured my duffle bag over my shoulder. As soon as my hands were wrapped around his waist Tristan took off down the street.

He steered us in the direction of downtown Domino City, weaving in and out of traffic. "Where are we going?" I shouted over the wind rushing by us. He either didn't hear me or decided to just ignore me because he didn't answer, he just sped up. "Tristan! If you don't slow down you're going to get us killed!"

The bike slowed and came to an abrupt halt. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's an emergency, but on the bright side we're here." I looked up at the tall skyscraper in front of us and immediately froze. _No. Why did we have to come here? Why couldn't have been somewhere else? _My heartbeat sped up as I stared up at the large black building.

"Tristan!" A girly voice shouted and I looked up as a group of three teens ran towards us. "Where have you been?"

"Sorry guys," my brother said. "I had to pick my sister up from the airport."

"Eh? Sister?" A guy with a Brooklyn accent said. "You never told me ya had a sister!"

"That doesn't matter right now!" The girl exclaimed. "Yugi's grandpa is in trouble!"

"Yeah, right." Brooklyn said and charged into the building. I was about to say that I'd stay there, but before I could utter one syllable my brother was dragging me inside. We entered the building and rushed into an elevator, a short kid with tri-colored spiky hair pressed the button for some floor and the elevator shot up.

"So well we're waiting," Tristan said. "Guys this is my older sister, Ash."

"Nice to meet you all," I smiled and bowed my head a bit. The blonde with the accent just stood there and stared at me while the brunette grabbed my hand.

"Hi, I'm Tea Gardener." She gushed. "It's so nice to meet you, I can just tell that we're going to be great friends." I seriously doubt it, she's way to peppy for my taste.

"I'm Yugi Muto," the short kid said and held out his hand. I shook it and smiled.

"Anyone going to introduce the blonde?" I joked. "Or should I just call him Brooklyn?" The blonde seemed to break out of his trance at that moment and smirked at me.

"The name's Joey Wheeler and I'm the number one duelist in the world!" He shouted.

"Please," I scoffed. "You're obviously just a novice. There's no way you could compete with a top notch duelist like me."

"Ash," Tristan scolds. "Be nice." It's strange that in our relationship he always took the roll of the responsible older sibling while I was the one who always needed to be scolded. It should be the other way around.

"Sorry," I mumbled as the elevator doors opened.

"Grandpa!" Yugi shouted and ran over to a groaning old man on the ground. Tea let out a gasp and even Tristan and Joey mirrored the look of shock on my face. "Are you okay?"

"Yugi, I've failed," the old man said, pain clear in his voice. "I wanted to teach that boy Kaiba a lesson about the heart of the cards, but I lost." The man let out another groan and slumped on the ground. How could Seto do such a thing?

"How's the old man feeling, hm?" a cold voice void of any emotion asked.

"Seto," I barely whispered as I stared at the silhouette of the boy I used to, and maybe still did, love. Butterflies began to dance around in my stomach and I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.

"Kaiba, you sleaze! What have you done to him?" Joey shouted as him, Tea, and Tristan rushed forward. I stayed back near the elevator, stock still as my heart began to race. I had hoped that a year away from him would have eased the pain, but it still feels like a million tiny needles are being shoved into my heart.

"We had a duel that's all," Seto said coolly and stepped out of the light. His once kind eyes were empty of emotion and he gazed at my brother and his friends with a cold indifference. "With each of us putting up our most valuable card as the prize, but I guess playing against a champion like myself was just to much stimulation for the old fool." There was a hint of amusement in his tone as he shrugged his shoulders. Oh Seto, what happened to you?

"Kaiba!" Tea shouted point a finger in his direction. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Said boy just shrugged. "It was fair, and look," he smirked pulling a card from his pocket. "At the sweet prize I won." He held up a Blue Eyes White Dragon card and ripped it down the middle. Everyone's eyes widened and a quiet gasp escaped my lips.

"Grandpa's most treasured card!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Yes," Kaiba continued throwing the two torn pieces to the floor. "The Blue Eyes White Dragon is a rare and powerful card, and this one will never be used against me."

"Ah, my Blue Eyes White Dragon! M-My treasure!" Yugi's grandpa said in a weak voice, a trembling hand reached out towards the destroyed card. A groan of pain escaped his lips and Yugi looked down at him in worry.

"Grandpa hold on!" Yugi said to him before looking up at Kaiba, anger contorting his face. "How could you do such a thing?"

"Yugi here," his grandfather said and held out a duel monsters deck. Sweat poured down his face just from the effort of trying to stay conscious. "Take this."

"Huh? Grandpa?" Yugi asked his voice sounding like he was on the brink of tears.

"I built this deck, I put my soul in these cards and I taught you everything I know Yugi. Take them, take my cards and teach him respect! Teach Kaiba respect for the heart of the cards Yugi."

"But grandpa, you need help! I need to get you to a doctor," Yugi cried.

"Sounds like an excuse, your friends can care for your grandfather while you and I duel… Unless you're afraid." Seto taunted.

"Take him Yugi!" Joey shouted balling his hands into fists. "We can take care of your grandpa while you take care of creepy Kaiba. Teach that rich spoiled brat what a real duel's all about!"

"For your grandpa, Yugi." Tea added.

"I-I don't know."

"Trust me," Joey said. "You're like the best player I've ever seen and you've got the Millennium Puzzle. You can do this Yugi, I know you can!" Did he just say Millennium Puzzle? So Yugi has a Millennium item too. I wonder what it does. I know my dagger is pretty powerful when it comes to increasing speed and strength, but it also helps control my emotions when I duel.

"We all do," Tea said. A look of determination crossed Yugi's face and he nodded.

"Okay grandpa, I'll do it," he said taking the deck from the old man.

"I know you will my boy," Mr. Muto said back.

"Everyone put your hands together," Tea said and pulled out a pen. All four of them put their hands in and Tea drew a strange symbol on them. "And I'll mark us with a special sign."

"Huh?" Joey and Tristan said their eyes widening in confusion. It's nice to see that some things never change; Tristan is still as clueless as ever.

"What gives Tea?" Joey asked examining his hand.

"It's a symbol of our friendship," she explained. "So when Yugi's dueling, no matter how tough it gets he'll know he's not alone. We're all right there with him!"

"And he wont be alone," I said stepping out of the shadow. "I'll stay to keep an eye on him." I sent a wink my brother's way and they all nodded and the three rushed out of the room, Tristan carrying Yugi's grandpa on his back.

"A-Ash?" I heard Seto whisper. I turned towards him, my eyes set in a glare. He visibly flinched under my harsh stare.

"Seto," I said trying to keep my voice neutral in order to hide the turmoil of emotions going on inside me.

"You two know each other?" Yugi asked staring between the two of us.

"It's a long story, I'll explain it to you later." I said as a thought crossed my mind. "But you can't tell my brother any of it. He'd flip if he knew."

"Ash," Seto said softly emotions flooding his previously vacant eyes. "We need to talk."

"No we don't," I said as if I couldn't care less. I felt as if I wanted to break down and cry or run into his arms and apologize over and over again for leaving him. Tears began to build up in my eyes, but I blinked multiple times in order to get rid of them. Unable to meet his eyes any longer I looked away and glared at the wall behind him. "Don't you two have a duel to start?"

Seto cleared his throat and forced himself to look away from me. Though something tells me that if Yugi weren't here he would have forced me to explain myself. "Yes, if you'll just follow me."

He led Yugi and I to a large arena with two platforms on either side. I recognized it as the virtual simulator he was working on before I left. "Wow," Yugi breathed taking it all in. Seto got onto one of the platforms and gestured for Yugi to get on the other.

"I designed this virtual stadium myself," Seto said. "Impressive, hm? I think you'll agree it adds a bit more life to the game. We each begin with two thousand life points, the first player to zero loses!" The platforms extended and moved out over the stadium. I took a seat on the stands and waited for the match to start. "Are you ready to play, runt?"

"Play time is over Kaiba!" Yugi shouted. Then something strange happened. It was as if Yugi became a completely different person. A few strands of his blonde bangs flipped up to join his spiky black hair and he looked as if he grew a few inches. His once innocent face took on a more serious air and a small smirk adorned his face. "Now Kaiba, prepare yourself because it's time to duel!" Yugi's voice sounded as if it had dropped a few octaves and all of his childlike innocence disappeared.

"The virtual system's ready, so let's begin." Seto smirked and took a card out of his hand. "I attack with the mighty Hitasumi Giant. Brace yourself Yugi, you've never dueled like this before." As soon as those words left his mouth a giant virtual replica of the monster appeared on the field.

"He's brought the monster on the card to life," Yugi exclaimed.

So this is how Seto's virtual system turned out. Not bad, not bad at all. The two exchanged some unimportant words before Yugi summoned the Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress. The large blue dragon appeared on the field just as Joey came running in.

"Huh? Monsters?" He asked in surprise. "Real monsters!"

"Hey Joey!" I said gaining his attention. "Their just virtual replicas created by Seto's arena. Don't worry they aren't real."

"Fireball attack!" Yugi shouted and the two monsters clashed. Yugi's dragon made quick work of Seto's giant dropping his life points down to 1800.

"Alright!" Joey cheered. "Go Yugi!"

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet," I warned Joey. "This duel is a long way from over."  
"Well played Yugi, for a beginner. But how will you deal with this?" Seto dropped a card on the field and Saggi the Dark Clown appeared.

"Saggi the Dark Clown," Yugi muttered. "But that card has barely any attack strength."

"True your Winged Dragon's attack is 1400 while my Dark Clown is only 600, but when I combine it with this card," Seto said smugly placing a card down.

"A magic card!" Yugi said in surprise.

"While that's normally how the game's played," I mumbled to myself. "It's like he's never seen a magic card before."

"Exactly, the Negative Energy Generator it multiplies my monster's attack by three." As Seto was saying this, lightning began to spark around Saggi's body and the clown grew in size. "Dark Clown attack with dark light!" An evil looking smile formed on Seto's face as the clown launched a black ball of energy at the dragon, sucking it into a vortex. "As you can see combining cards can be very effective."  
Yugi grit his teeth as his life points dropped down to 1600. Yugi placed a card in defense mode and Saggi destroyed it. "Hang in there Yugi!" Joey shouted, banging his fists against the railing in front of him.

"Come on Yugi!" I yelled. "You can do this. Just take a minute to calm down and focus on the task at hand. Seto may claim to be the best, but he isn't unbeatable."

"Ash?" All three of the boys sad in surprise and looked at me.

"Look," I said staring directly at Yugi. "Any friend of my brother is a friend of mine. If Tristan believes in you then so do I. Besides I've beaten Seto plenty of times. All it takes is staying calm and thinking through your strategy."

"Wait. You've beaten Kaiba?" Joey asked in surprise.

"I told you Wheeler," I smirked. "I'm a top notch duelist. I just took a year off from making appearances at tournaments in order to go to Egypt."

"Stay calm and think out a strategy," Yugi muttered. "Right, thanks Ash."

"No problem Yugi," I smiled. "Just watch out for his-"

"Don't you dare tell him about that!" Seto shouted interrupting me. His eyes were filled with rage as he stared me down. I gazed back coolly acting as if his glare didn't hurt me.

"And why shouldn't I?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Because I know you," he said. "You duel with honor and you wouldn't feel right about giving away my dueling secrets."

I opened my mouth to tell him that I wouldn't feel anything, but closed it quickly realizing that he was right. "I hate it when you're right," I mumbled causing him to smirk triumphantly.

"Let's get back to our duel," he said and looked at Yugi.

"Right," Yugi growled and placed another card face down. Saggi once again destroyed it and they repeated the process a couple more times.

"You're not faring any better than the old man, Yugi." Seto laughed. "Your deck is just as weak and feeble as your grandfather."

"My grandpa is a great man and a better duelist than you'll ever be," Yugi glared. "He entrusted me with his cards and put his heart into this deck. I doubt you have that kind of faith in your cards Kaiba!" A shocked look overcomes Seto's face, just like it did back when I told him the same thing.

_"Face it Ash," Seto laughed at the concentrated look on my face. "There's just no way you can beat me."_

_ "Hold on," I muttered gazing at my cards, trying to figure out the best strategy._

_ "Come on, there's no way you have a monster in there that's stronger than my Blue Eyes." My eyes swept over the cards lying on the table. He's wrong, I do have a monster stronger than all three of his Blue Eyes placed on the field, but I don't have any monster cards in my hand that I could place in defense mode to buy some time until I can draw it. The only thing keeping me in this duel is my Attraffic Control magic card, which prevents Seto from attacking because he has three monsters on the field._

_ "I'm not going to give up," I murmured. "I just have to believe that the heart of the cards will give me what I need."_

_ "The what?" Seto asked, a look of shock crossing his face._

_ "The heart of the cards," I smiled. "It means that you have to have faith that no matter what your deck will come through for you."_

_ "That's a bunch of nonsense," he snorted. I just smirked at him and held my breath. A smile formed on my face when I saw what card I had drawn._

_ "You're in for it now," I said and placed two more magic cards on the field._

_ "How are those magic cards going to help you?" He asked._

_ "Like this," I grinned. "I send these three magic cards to the graveyard in order to play Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. His 4000 attack points are more than enough to wipe out your dragons. And I believe that means I've just won."_

_ "You just got lucky," he scoffed and cleaned his cards off the field._

_ "It wasn't luck," I said and placed my deck in my jacket pocket. "I'm just that good."_

_ "Oh really," he smirked and walked over to my side of the table. "Are you sure I didn't let you win?"_

_ "The great Seto Kaiba let someone else win!" I gasped in shock and stood up in front of him._

_ "I'm not that obsessed with winning," he grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest._

_ "Yes you are," I giggled and stood on my toes to place a quick kiss on his cheek, before running away._

_ "Hey get back here!" He shouted._

"Ah! Impossible!" Seto's shout pulled me from my reminiscing.

"I've assembled all five special cards, all five pieces of the puzzle," Yugi smirked as a star like structure appeared on the field. Out of the star came the upper body of a large monster. It seemed like an Egyptian pharaoh and towered over Seto's three Blue Eyes. Exodia, the only unstoppable card in Duel Monsters. Yugi's grandpa has a pretty good deck if he has those cards in it. I'm surprised that Yugi was able to draw all of them.

"Exodia, it's not possible." Seto said backing away. This is the first time I've ever seen him look so terrified. "No one's ever been able to call him!"

"Exodia obliterate!" Yugi shouted and the monster rushed forward. I shut my eyes as a flash of light engulfed the arena. The only sound was Seto's screaming. When the light cleared Seto's dragons were no more and his life points dropped down to zero.

"You did it!" Joey shouted. "Yugi you won!"

"Good job Yugi," I yelled to the spiky haired teen.

"You play only for power Kaiba, that is why you lost." Yugi said. "But if you put your heart in the game there's nothing you can't do."

"But-But how? How could I have lost to him," Seto mumbled, looking horribly lost.

"Kaiba, if you truly want to know… open your mind!" Yugi shouted and threw his arm in Seto's direction. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but Seto fell to his knees. It must have had something to do with Yugi's Millennium item. "There Kaiba, maybe now you will begin to see."

"Come on guys," I said to Yugi and Joey. "Let's get out of here."

"Ash?" A young boy's voice said. I turned around to see Mokuba staring at me.

"Hey Mokuba," I said a bit awkwardly. "How's it going?"

"Ash!" He shouted and ran to me wrapping his arms around my waist. "I missed you so much!" Tears flowed down the small boy's tan cheeks as I pulled him closer to me.

"Hey," I said gently. "Don't cry."

"D-Does this mean you and Seto are back together?" He asked. His big eyes stared up at me and I had to look away, so that I wouldn't have to see the disappointment in them when I told him no.

"I'm sorry buddy, but I just… I just don't think that things can be fixed between us," I said and gently stroked his midnight hair. Not to mention I'm with someone else.

"But Seto's been so sad since you left," the boy whispered. This came as a shock to me. Maybe Seto really did… no, I've moved on. It's no use to dwell on the past.

"I'm sorry Mokuba," I mumbled. "But I really should get going." I gently removed the kid's arms from around my waist and turned to face Joey and Yugi. "We should go check on Yugi's grandpa."

"Right," they both nodded and we left the building.

"So how do you know Kaiba?" Yugi asked seemingly back to his normal, innocent self.

"Well," I sighed as we began walking towards the hospital. "Seto and I… we used to date."

"Kaiba actually dated you?" Joey asked in shock. "How the heck did that happen?"

"I'd have to start at the beginning in order to explain that." I said. "After Tristan was born our parents split up. I went with our dad and he went with our mom. When I was about thirteen my dad died in a car crash. I was sent into foster care because my dad burned every record that connected me and him to my mom. I was sent to this really awful home where I was picked on and bullied by the other kids, so after a few months I ran away. I lived out on the streets and was reduced to begging for food."

"That's horrible!" Joey exclaimed

"I know," I said. "One day, when I was starving and close to death, I collapsed near the Kaiba's mansion. Seto and Mokuba had gone for a walk and stumbled across me. Back then Seto wasn't as cruel as he is now. He carried me back to his house and ordered the maids to take care of me. After that I lived at the mansion and Seto and I developed crushes on each other. Two years ago we started dating, but then something happened and I decided to leave and travel to Egypt."

"If you and Tristan were separated then how do you two know about each other now?" Yugi asked.

"My dad burned all of his documents, but he didn't burn his journal. After he died I was reading through it when I came across and entry talking about Tristan. Once I knew about him I tracked him down and we've been close ever since." I explained. "But listen to me, Tristan doesn't know anything about Seto and I, so you can't tell him."

"Why are ya keepin' it a secret?" Joey asked.

"He's way too over protective. If he found out that I was dating Seto, that I was dating anyone, he'd flip out!"

"So why did you leave him?" Yugi asked.

"I... I told him," I bit my lip suddenly feeling very embarrassed. "I told him I loved him… and after that he avoided me."

"That jerk!" Joey exclaimed and wrapped a protective arm around me. "I won't tell Tristan what he did to ya, but if he hurts you again I'm gonna kick his keister!"

"Thanks Joey," I smiled as we arrived at the hospital. "Can you guys tell Tristan that I'm just going to head to the hotel I'm staying at for the night? I'm a bit… emotionally exhausted after seeing Seto."

"No problem," Yugi said.

"Do you want me to walk you there?" Joey asked.

"I'll be fine," I waved him off. "It's only a block away from here."

"Okay," Joey said, still not sure if he should let me go.

"Bye guys!" I waved and headed off in the direction of the hotel. I'm glad my little brother has made such great friends. I've never really been a… friendly person, so I didn't have a lot of friends growing up. Actually, I didn't have any friends until Seto and Mokuba came along.

I walked through the crowded streets, weaving in and out of people on the sidewalk. I actually missed this place quite a bit. Egypt was great, but nothing compares to the big city.

When I got to my hotel room there was a bouquet of roses and a note sitting in the bed. I lifted the roses up with a smile and gave them a sniff. The heavenly aroma invaded my nostrils and I removed some fake flowers from a vase in the room and replaced them with the roses. I sat down on the bed with a sigh and read the note.

_Miss you already. Hope you have fun in Domino City. I can't wait until you come back._

_Love,_

_M._

The smile on my face grew and I laid back on the bed, hugging the note to my chest. I curled up into a ball and just as I was about to fall asleep, there was a knock at my door. "Seriously?" I growled and rolled off the bed. I walked over to the door and yanked it open. No one was standing there, but lying on the ground was box of chocolates and a letter.

I tentatively picked the box up and set it next to the roses. I opened the envelope and two letters fell out. One of them had the words _read first _written across it. I just shrugged and opened it.

_Ash,_

_ I thought this would be something you'd want to see. Seto wrote you this letter a month after you left, but he never sent it. He'll probably kill me for sending this to you, but you need to read it._

_Mokuba_

I stared at the letter for a long time. Should I open it? Do I even want to open it? Yes, but… what if it's a hate letter. I don't regret my decision to leave Seto, it had to be done. If I hadn't I would have lived this past year in misery. There's a chance we might have worked things out, but what if we hadn't?

After a moment of hesitation I decided to read it. I opened the page slowly and stared at the tear stained paper.

_Ash,_

_ Chances are you'll never see this, but I have to get it out. I'm so sorry, I wish I would have realized sooner how my actions were affecting you. After you told me you loved me, I froze. I had no idea what to do, I was terrified. Terrified that if I admitted how I felt something bad would happen. The only other person I've ever loved is Mokuba and that's because he's my brother._

_ The new feelings I was getting around you scared me. By the time I had recovered from my shock, you had fallen asleep or so I thought. I thought that if I avoided those feelings things would just go on normally, but every time I saw you they came rushing back. I started to avoid you, hoping that if I didn't see you, touch you, or kiss you for a while I'd be able to control them. I had realized too late that my plan had backfired for you had already left._

_ The day you left was the day I planned to tell you how I felt. I was anticipating it all day at work. At one point I'd want to rush home and tell you right away and at another I'd want to stay as long as I possibly could and hope you were asleep by the time I got home. When I did get home, I resolved that I would tell you no matter what. I searched the entire house for you before coming to our bedroom. As soon as I saw the letter my heart sank. When I had finished reading I couldn't help, but let out a sob that had Mokuba running to my room._

_ I couldn't speak so I just handed Mokuba the letter you left for him. I stared at that letter for a long time, hoping it was just a trick of the mind and you would come bounding through the door at any moment and give me a kiss hello, ask me how work was, and tell me that dinner was ready. But that never happened. I couldn't sleep at all that night; I just stayed up staring at that picture we took on my sixteenth birthday. The one where you were wearing your favorite sundress._

_ The truth is that I love you. I love you so much it hurts and now you're gone, possibly forever, because of my stupidity. Never in my life have I regretted something so much. You're perfect. The way you laugh and smile brightens my day and now I find myself waking up and looking for you beside me, but find nothing. I've cried more in this past month than I have in my entire life. You're the only girl for me Ash and I hope that one day I can make things right between us._

_I will love you forever,_

_Seto_

I stared at the page for a long time, crystal tears dripping down my face and further smearing the ink on the page. My heart feels as if it's been stabbed multiple times. A sob escaped my throat and I curled up into a ball on the bed, clutching the letter to me. That's how I spent my first night in Domino City, curled up in a ball unable to stop myself from sobbing.

* * *

I think I actually started crying when I was writing Seto's letter... That's what I get for writing this story. I hope you liked this chapter and remember reviews are welcome, I try to respond to every review, so if you have a question or just want to talk feel free to review or PM me :) Also check out my two Naruto fics, Naruto one-shot, and Naruto/Yugioh crossover. Oh and follows are nice too, I really like follows, but I like reviews more. Both is like the ultimate way to make my day, so keep that in mind :p

~Tora


	3. The Tournament

At some point last night I had managed to fall asleep despite the aching pain in my heart. Things just had to become complicated, why didn't I just stay in Egypt and make Tristan go there? It would have made life so much easier, but sadly I had to come here for "business".

Currently that business was standing in front of me sipping some wine. His dark grey eye twinkled with mischief, setting me on edge. "Welcome Ash." The silver haired monster smirked. "I'm so glad that you accepted my invitation to this meeting."

"It's not like I had a choice," I muttered and the man just laughed.

"How was the flight here?" He asked with a slight chuckle, as if he knew how I would react.

"Cut the pleasantries Pegasus," I growled at the man who created Duel Monsters. "What do you want?"

"Oh you know," he said swirling wine around the glass. "World peace, an end to poverty and hunger."

"Just answer the question." He was really starting to get on my nerves. I mean who does he think he is flaunting around in that hideous red suit and forcing me to leave Egypt just to meet with him!

"So impatient," he sighed perching precariously on the edge of a couch in his office. "Why don't you take a seat first?" He gestured to the lounge chair across from him.

"I'd rather stand." I said blankly.

"Kid these days," he muttered before answering my question. "I want you to compete in my tournament right here at Duelist Kingdom."

"And you had to make me come all the way to the island when you could have emailed me because?"

"Because you would have refused." He stated confidently. "Don't try to deny it, my Millennium Eye can see into your mind."

"You have a Millennium Item?" I asked raising an eyebrow at him. In response he moved his long hair to the side to reveal his left eye. Only it wasn't a normal eye, it was completely golden and had the distinct style of something from ancient Egypt. It looked like the eye on the hilt of my dagger. My hand moved to touch my dagger, slowly pulling the golden item out of its sheath. "You want my Millennium Dagger don't you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"You're a clever girl," he mused.

"And what would happen if I refuse to compete in your stupid tournament?"

"We have some… insurance." He smirked.

"What kind of insurance?"

"Bring in our 'guest'!" Pegasus shouted. Two of his large goons dressed in their usual business suits came stomping through the door holding a small body between them.

"Mokuba!" I gasped and went to run to him, but was stopped by Pegasus placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Ash!" Mokuba shouted struggling to free himself from the guards. "You have to find Seto! They're trying to take over our-" His voice was silenced by a hard slap to the back of the head by one of the behemoths. Anger, red, hot, searing anger exploded inside me.

"Mokuba!" I screamed and ran at the bastard who hit him. I became a blur as my dagger's powers filled me, increasing my speed and strength. I kicked on of the men and sent him flying through the wall. I turned to go after the other one, but stopped short. He held Mokuba in the air against him, a knife at his throat. There was something sadistic about the way the man's lips curled up at the corners and the joyful glint that appeared in his eyes.

"Now, now Ash. Let's be civil." Pegasus scolded. "We wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen to little Mokuba."

"You sick bastard," I growled.

"Come now, Ash." He smirked. "I'd prefer if you didn't use such vulgar language. If you want to save little Mokuba and your precious Kaiba you'll compete in my tournament. If you can beat me I'll free Mokuba and leave Kaiba alone. And if that isn't enough to convince you, I can't always steal the soul of your younger brother."

"I'll fight in your damn tournament." I said angrily. "But if you hurt any one of them I will personally rip your fucking throat out!"

"Tsk, tsk Ash. Ladies really shouldn't use that kind of language." He tutted. "There will be a package waiting at your hotel room when you get back."

"Burn in hell," I spat.

"Only if you'll join me," he said.

"Fuck you," I growled and stormed out of the room. Normally I'm not someone who swears a lot, but if you threaten my family or friends a whole different side of me shows. I made my way through a maze of hallways to the roof of his castle where a helicopter was waiting to take me back the city. I climbed in and the pilot took off. The entire flight lasted around ten minutes and the copter landed at an airfield just outside of Domino. Pegasus had a chauffer waiting to take me to my hotel.

When I walked into the room I noticed a large package sitting on the desk. I carefully opened it. Inside sat what looked like two Duel Monsters cards, two star things, a key and some strange glove. Around the wrist of the glove was a large metal piece with indents of stars in it. Under the glove was a card that said: _You're invited to compete at Duelist Kingdom. The winner will receive three million dollars and a chance to face Maximillion Pegasus in a duel!_

"Invited my ass," I snorted under my breath. The card goes on to say the date and time. I pulled the cards out of the box and placed the stars in the glove. After that I sat down at my laptop to send an email to Marik to tell him I'll be gone longer than expected. Just as I finished typing out the email a little screen popped up for a video chat with him. I clicked the accept button and smiled as my Egyptian boyfriend appeared on the screen.

"Hey Love," he greets with a smile that reaches his amethyst colored eyes.

"Hey," I sighed remembering that I had to tell him I'm not coming home yet.

"What's wrong?" He asked picking up on my bummed out mood.

"It's going to be a while before I can come home," I said sadly. "Stupid Pegasus is forcing me to compete in one of his tournaments."

"Why don't you refuse?" He brushed a stray piece of his shoulder length, slightly spiky dirty blond hair out of his face.

"He threatened to hurt my friends and family." I answered. "And if I can't beat him he'll hurt them and take my Millennium Dagger."

"Don't worry Ash," he reassured me with a small smile. "You're an amazing duelist. I have complete faith in the fact that you'll be able to beat Pegasus and be home within a week."

"Thanks Marik," I smiled as a warm and fuzzy feeling welled up in my chest. "I should probably go and prepare for the tournament."

"Okay," he said. "I'm sure I'll talk to you before the tournament, but if I don't, good luck. I love you." Those three words caused a blush to rise onto my cheeks and my heartbeat sped up.

"Love you too," I said and blew a kiss at my computer screen.

"Bye Love," he winked and the screen went blank. I sighed heavily and closed my laptop before going to prepare my deck. This is going to be a long tournament.

A cool sea breeze flowed through my hair as I waited in line to board the ship to Duelist Kingdom. Yugi stood next to me nervously playing with the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. Pegasus, the bastard, had stolen his grandpa's soul in order to get him to come. Now not only am I fighting for Mokuba and Tristan, I'm fighting for Yugi too.

All around us crowds of duelist were talking animatedly about the upcoming tournament. Too bad none of them are going to win. I looked down at poor Yugi who looked so intimidated by it all. "Hey Yugi," I said softly and his large purple eyes looked up at me. "Don't be so nervous, no matter what I've got your back."

"Thanks Ash," he said with a small smile. "But what if I can't save him?"

"I know how you feel," I sighed. "This tournament has a lot more riding on it for us than these people could ever imagine."

"What do you mean?"

"Pegasus is holding someone close to me prisoner," I explained. "And for added effect he threatened to take Tristan's soul too."

"That's-" Whatever Yugi was about say was cut off by a series of shouts up ahead.

"Hey, get ya hands off me!" A familiar Brooklyn accent shouted.

"Please tell me that not who I think it is," I groaned and face palmed.

"Joey!" Yugi shouted and ran towards the blond who was being restrained by two of Pegasus' guards. I decided to hang back considering they were the one's I attacked during my meeting with Pegasus. Them knowing Joey was my friend would probably have just made things worse.

I watched as Yugi dispelled the guards and gave Joey one of his two star chips. Joey stared at him in shock as if he couldn't believe Yugi would help him. He snapped out of it as Yugi tugged on his arm and led him over to me.

"Hey Ash," he said and straightened out his bright green jacket.

"Hey Joey," I smiled. "What go you in so much trouble?"

"Those jerks wouldn't let me on the boat," he grumbled. "I mean, sure I wasn't invited, but they should know a great duelist like me when they see one!"

I just shook my head at him as I flashed my star chips at the guard. He gave a nod and I stalked on board, Joey and Yugi right behind me. "I'll see you two later," I said. "I have my own private room because I used to be a world ranked duelist."

"Okay," Yugi said.

"See ya on the island," Joey said as they went to the common area where most of the duelists were going through their decks and trading cards. I bypassed the door and went below deck to where the private rooms were located. I found the one with my name on it and pulled out the key that came in the package. I put it in and turned, I heard a faint click and turned the handle. I was about to open the door and go in when I heard a creepy little laugh coming from behind me.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Ash Taylor." A nasally voice said. "You're looking as lovely as ever.

"Weevil Underwood," I growled and turned to see the green haired insect lover smirking at me. "You're looking as bug like as ever.

"Why thank you," he slurred slightly and fixed his thick rimmed circular glasses. "I just wanted to know if after I win this tournament you would like to go on a date with me."

"First of all, ew." I shuddered. "Second of all, you're only like twelve and I'm seventeen, and third of all my boyfriend would murder you."

"Ah, I check my facts first." He said pushing his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. "You and Seto Kaiba broke up a year ago and I'm thirteen, practically a man."

"I wasn't talking about Seto and practically isn't good enough." I laughed imagining Marik tearing the boy's throat out. "Get lost Bug Boy." I stepped into my room and slammed the door behind me; hopefully the pest gets the message to leave me alone.

I sighed and looked around the room. It was plain with just a simple red couch and a coffee table with a connecting bathroom. I threw my bag on the couch and sat down with my laptop in front of me. I logged into my email and saw that I got a picture from my friend Mai. I clicked on the link and the picture popped up. My blond haired friend was standing in front of a ship waving. Underneath there was a message: _Off to another tournament!_

I typed back a quick message telling her to have fun and clicked send. I was about to shut my computer down when a message for a video call popped up onto the screen. A goofy grin spread on my face when I saw it was Marik. I hit the accept button and the video screen appeared with him in it.

"Hey Love," he said using his usual greeting for me.

"Hey," I said adjusting myself so that I sat cross-legged on the couch.

"I miss you," he said, his amethyst eyes sparkling.

"I miss you too," I responded. "It's kind of lonely sleeping alone."

"I know," he agreed. "Are you on your way to the tournament?"

"Yeah," I answered and started to stare off at the wall behind my computer.

"What's the matter?"

"What if…" I bit my lip as tears began to well in my eyes and I looked away from the computer screen. "What if I can't save them? What if I can't beat Pegasus?"

"Ash look at me," he said gently and I reluctantly glanced back at the screen. "You're one of the most powerful duelist I know. You need to be more confident in your abilities. I know you can beat him, you just have to believe in yourself."

"But what if I can't Marik?" I whispered. "What if I can't and he hurts Tristan, Mokuba, and Seto? I don't think I could live with myself if I let that happen."

"Did you just say Seto?" He blinked. "As in Seto Kaiba you ex-boyfriend?"

"Yeah," I said, unsure of why it was a problem.

"So you're doing this for him?" Marik asked, his jaw clenched.

"Did you miss the part where I said Tristan? You know, my _brother_ Tristan?" I asked, stressing the word brother.

"Well excuse me for feeling a bit uncomfortable with my _girlfriend _fighting to save her ex!" He said in exasperation.

"I just can't let him be killed!" I shouted, my temper going off.

"He broke your heart Ash! He deserves it!"

"No he doesn't!" I growled in frustration. "Besides, I'm the one who left him."

"After he started ignoring you!" Marik ground out through gritted teeth and I could tell he was at his breaking point.

"Marik," I said softly trying to calm him down. "I can't just sit back and let people get hurt. I'm doing this for my brother, but there are other people's lives at risk too. Seto just happens to be one of them."

"I don't care if he's just one of them! Save the others and let him be taken out." He said in a menacing tone. "It'll save you a lot of heartache."

"No Marik, it won't." I sighed suddenly feeling drained.

"You're still in love with him, aren't you?" His eyes widened with the realization.

"No! Yes.. Maybe!" I exclaimed. "Look, I don't have time for this right now. I have to get ready for the tournament."

"We're not done talking about this! Don't you dare hang-" His voice cut off as I clicked the end call button. Immediately the video call box comes up again, but I hit decline. Chances are he was going to be pissed, but in that moment I really didn't care. He was in Egypt and I was in Domino, the only thing he could do was call me repeatedly.

I decided to go see how Yugi and Joey were doing. I slammed my laptop closed and blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes. Stupid Marik just had to start a fight right before one of the biggest tournaments of my life! I got up and exited the room.

"And stay out you little creep!" A familiar voice said to my left.

"Mai?" I asked staring at the violet-eyed woman. Sitting on the ground in front of here was Rex Raptor, a regionally ranked duelist with extremely long brown hair and a stupid looking red beanie. He was glaring up at Mai like she had just killed his puppy or something.

"Ash?" They both asked in unison.

"What are you doing here?" Mai blinked at me. "I mean, not that it isn't great to see you but, why are here?"

"Oh you know," I said casually. "Just trying to save my brother, somewhat brother, and ex-boyfriend from a crazy madman."

"Seriously? What have the Kaiba's gotten themselves into this time?" She rolled her eyes.

"Just don't even ask." I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"That bad?"

"Yeah. Anyways I have to go find some of my friends." I said and began to walk away.

"Good luck out there!" She called after me. "I want to face you in the finals!"

"You too!" I yelled over my shoulder and made my way to the upper deck. On my way up I passed a cackling Weevil and shot him a suspicious glare. He merely smirked and continued on past me. I wonder what the little creep's up to. When I reached the deck I saw Tea and Tristan at the railing pulling a soaking wet Joey out of the ocean.

"What's going on?" I asked rushing over to help them pull Yugi up from the water.

"That creep Weevil threw Yugi's Exodia cards over the edge!" Joey said through chattering teeth.

"Figures," I growled. "The pest would do anything to win. One time he actually thought that if he flirted with me it would throw off my game! Too bad for him Seto kicked his ass after I beat him in the duel. Kid was in the hospital for a month."

"Really?" Asked Tea. "That's horrible!"

"Not if you know Weevil," I muttered with a small grin on my face. "Seto sent him into a coma."

"Why would a jerk like Kaiba stand up for you like that?" Tristan asked and Yugi, Joey and I froze.

"Come to think of it, you called him Seto instead of Kaiba like the rest of us." Tea added making the situation worse. I sent her a dirty look before letting out a sigh.

"I guess you wouldn't believe me if I said he did it out of the goodness of his heart…"

"I don't believe Kaiba has a heart," Tristan snorted. "Now answer the question."

"Um… uh, hey look a dolphin!" I shouted and pointed at a random spot in the ocean. While they were busy looking I sprinted away, but as I rounded the corner I ran into a person. "Sorry" I mumbled looking at the white haired male. He had a sinister look in his eyes and was staring down at my Millennium Dagger.

"Where'd she go?" I heard Tea ask just around the corner. I looked around and spotted a door, but the guy was in the way. Looked like he was coming with me. I pushed on his chest until we were through the door way and I shut the door behind us, letting out a sigh of relief.

I was standing in a broom closet with the stranger. Now that I wasn't panicking I took a good look at him. He had long spiky white hair and dark brown eyes set on snow-white skin. Around his neck was what looked like a dream catcher with an Egyptian eye in the middle of it, but I knew better, it was the Millennium Ring.

"Not that I'm not flattered to be pulled into a closet by a pretty girl," he said in a raspy voice with a smirk on his face. "But why did you do it?"

"I'm sorry," I mumbled slightly embarrassed. "I was um, running from my brother and his friends."

"Why would you run from family?"

"The thing is he doesn't know about my last boyfriend or my current one and we were heading down a line of questioning that would lead to me telling him about them." I explained. "He's just a little over protective and would have flipped if he found out."

"Well since I'm going to be stuck hiding in here with you I should probably introduce myself," he smiled and there was something sinister about it. "My name is Bakura."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled at him, not the least bit intimidated by the sadistic edge to his voice. "I'm Ash."

"So where'd you get that Millennium Dagger in your belt?"

"I got it while I was in Egypt. What about you?"

"My Light's father brought it home for him when he visited Egypt." Bakura said.

"So you're the spirit of the item," I mused. "That's cool, so what were you in the past?"

"A master thief," he said proudly. Sometimes Millennium Items hold the spirit of an ancient Egyptian that got trapped inside them thousand's of years ago.

"That's cool," I smirked. "My spirit was a priestess, but she can't take over my body. She's just kind of there and gives me advice when I duel."

'Be careful Ash,' the spirit said in my mind. 'I remember this thief. He was after the power of the Millennium Items.'

'Thanks Irisi,' I said back to her. 'I won't let him get his hands on the Dagger.'

"Interesting," Bakura mused and leaned back against one of the walls. I leaned on the one across from him and we both stared at each other for a long time.

"I should probably head back to my room now," I said breaking the silence. "The boat should be docking soon and I need to prepare my deck."

"Okay," Bakura said taking my right hand in his and raising it to his lips. "Until next time, priestess." With a wink and a smirk he opened the door and slipped out into the night that was quickly turning to dawn.

'Great one more person who wants their hands on the Millennium Dagger,' I thought to Irisi.

'Sadly that is the price that comes with owning one of the Millennium Items,' she responded as a ghost like figure of her appeared next to me. She pretty much looked exactly like me, but instead of the jeans and black t-shirt I had on she was wearing an Egyptian style dress.

'I know,' I sighed mentally and made my way to the front of the ship to watch the sunrise.

'Don't you just love the sunrise?' She asked with a wistful smile on her face as she stared out at the mix of pinks, oranges, and yellows. 'I remember when the High Priest and I used to sit together on the balcony of his room and watch it.'

'Yeah,' I said sadly. 'I remember when Seto and I used to do the same thing.'

'Do you really still love him like Marik said?'

'Yeah, I think I do, but I love Marik too.'

'You're going to have to choose one or the other,' she advised.

'I know, but how can I?' I asked her. 'Seto saved my life when I was starving on the streets and Marik saved me from those bandits.'

'Love is a complicated thing,' she sighed. 'Believe me I had many suitors, but I chose the High Priest as my love. It was a shock to everyone considering we hated each other when we were younger.'

'There's the island,' I pointed to the dark line of land on the horizon.

'Time to get serious,' she said and I nodded. 'We're going to have to focus if we want to beat Pegasus, especially with that Millennium Eye of his.'

"There you are!" Yugi's voice cuts into my conversation with Irisi and she disappears back into the Dagger.

"Why'd you run?" Tea asked looking at me expectantly.

"No reason," I muttered nervously avoiding eye contact with her and Tristan. "But onto more important matters, we're almost at the island."

"Yeah," Yugi mumbled looking down.

"What's wrong Yug?" Joey asked.

"What if I can't save Grandpa?"

"Don't think like that," I said patting the short teen on the head. "You won't lose."

"Yeah, you have your friends with you," Tea added. "Anything is possible with your friends!" She's really into friendship, I wonder if she ever had any friends before the guys. As the boat got closer and closer to the island I felt my anxiety level rising. I hadn't noticed how hard I was gripping the railing in front of me until Tristan put his hand over mine and pried my fingers off.

The ship docked in the small harbor and we slowly made our way off the boat. "I'm gonna go blend into the crowd," I said to the group. "You guys will draw enough attention with Yugi being the one who beat Seto. It'll make it worse if you guys are seen with me."

"Why would it make it worse?" Tea asked.

"I'm kind of a celebrity when it comes to Duel Monsters. If anyone recognizes me they'll target you in an attempt to goad me into a duel with them." I explained.

"Okay," Yugi nodded. "Good luck!"

"Good luck to you too," I smiled. "I want to see you at the finals okay? And you too Joey."

"We'll be there," Joey said with a nod. I gave my brother a hug and waved one last time before disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

Hey so this is chapter two, but you already know that. Now that you guys have gotten a little insight into Ash's relationships with Marik and Seto I want to know your opinion on who she should end up with (Yes that means you have to review or PM me) That way I can take into accout who you think she should be with when I'm deciding. So, um... yeah, I hope you like it!

~Tora


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